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Need to Know: Bruins vs. Canadiens

Rivals meet for the second time this season

BostonBruins.com - The Bruins face the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night at the Bell Centre in the second of four meetings on the season, and the first of two in Montreal.

Puck drop for Tuesday's game is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on NESN and 98.5 The Sports Hub.

Here is what you need to know:

Watch to Watch For

Entering the second game of a back-to-back, the Black & Gold will look to build off their 4-0 shutout of Buffalo on Monday night at TD Garden.

The win marked the 32nd shutout of Tuukka Rask's career, placing him into third place on the Bruins' all-time shutouts list.

"Obviously it's a very long history with this organization so it's good to have your name in the record books," said Rask. "When you retire, you're going to look at those. Until then it doesn't really matter."

With the victory, Rask improved to 7-1-0 on the season, with a 1.74 goals-against average and .941 save percentage, and is amid the best start of his career. The game was his fifth straight start since returning from injury.

"It's still early in the season and you definitely don't want to burn yourself out. Obviously with Dobby [Anton Khudobin] being hurt too, I realize I might need to play more than planned and I'm fine with that," Rask said following Monday's game. "I'm sure there's going to be a time to get some rest."

Tfhere was no indication from Bruins Head Coach Claude Julien on Monday night who be getting the start on Tuesday in Montreal, between Rask and backup Zane McIntyre. The Bruins were set to have a pregame skate at the Bell Centre at 11:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday morning.

Asked if he would be ready to go, Rask responded, "Yeah, for sure. We'll see what the decision will be."

The last time the Bruins faced Montreal, they did not have Rask between the pipes, as he sidelined with his injury. Anton Khudobin was the starter.

The Bruins put forth what they deemed as a flat second period in that game at TD Garden, and only fired 21 shots that made their way to Carey Price, including just six in the first period. Ryan Spooner scored and the fourth line came up with a big goal, but they ultimately fell 4-2.

That fourth line, with Tim Schaller, Dominic Moore and Noel Acciari - which has been one of the Bruins' most consistent trios to start the season - could be broken up for the night. Acciari left Monday's game in the third period, and did not return.

Check back to BostonBruins.com on Monday afternoon for a rundown from pregame skate with projected lineup information and updates from Julien.

Opposing View

The Montreal Canadiens are the top team in the NHL, with a 10-1-1 record and 21 points on the season. They're also a perfect 7-0-0 in the Bell Centre this season entering Tuesday night's action.

They may have dropped their first regulation loss of the season in overwhelming fashion, when they were defeated 10-0 by the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday (Nov. 4), but this a team that has been red-hot to start the season and is consistently finding ways to win.

The Habs last played on Saturday, earning a 5-4 win over the Philadelphia Flyers at the Bell Centre.

With letting up 14 goals in the past two games (including six on the power play), don't be surprised to see a fine-tuned game from the Canadiens on Tuesday night and improved defensive play.

Four Canadiens have at least four goals on the season, including newcomer Shea Weber, Brendan Gallagher, Alex Galchenyuk, and their leading scorer, Torrey Mitchell (5). Galchenyuk leads the team with 11 points.

Here's a stat that stands out: 20 of Montreal's 39 goals have come in the third period.

In regards to their lineup, Finnish forward Artturi Lehkonen was placed on Injured Reserve with an upper-body injury and will be out for at least one week. Forward Sven Andrighetto was recalled from the St. John's Ice Caps on Monday.

Wait, There's More

- The Bruins have been strong away from TD Garden to start the season, having played seven of their 12 games on the road so far, with a 5-2-0 record.

- Boston might not be looking up its power play ranking anytime soon, as it will take a while for the Black & Gold to climb up the rankings, but they'll certainly draw confidence from doubling their PP output on Monday night by scoring three goals on the man advantage. They may have gotten a break with back-to-back double minors, but it's the capitalizing that counts.

- In Monday's 4-0 win, David Krejci picked up his first goal of the season with a power-play tally, David Pastrnak added his team-leading eighth goal (which came on the power play) and the third power-play goal came from Brad Marchand for his fifth of the season. Riley Nash also picked up his first goal as a Bruin, with a rejuvenated Matt Beleskey on his left wing.

- Tuesday night marks the 736th all-time meeting between the Bruins and Canadiens (in case you needed a reminder of just how far back the rivalry goes).